1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to embedded controllers with integrated operator display, control, and electromechanical input/output connections and more specifically relates to electronic modules that are plugged together with an operating system and device drivers to quickly develop and produce control systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In much of the equipment today, small microcomputers called embedded controllers are used to perform various functions, such as operator input/output display, control of functions, and input/output connections to electromechanical devices. Currently, many of these devices are custom designed for each application. However, this method is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, it would be advantageous to assemble and stock pre-made modules that plug together such as operator input/output display modules, computer control modules, and input/output modules.
In much of the equipment today, small microcomputers called embedded controllers are used to control equipment. The embedded controllers have other devices attached, such as displays, keyboards, memory, analog-to-digital converters, and other I/O devices. These embedded controllers and external devices are time consuming to program. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a system that contains an operating system and drivers to run the external devices, which would greatly reduce the time to implement a control application.
In much of the equipment today, small microcomputers called embedded controllers are used to perform various functions. Currently, many of these devices are custom designed from scratch for each application. This method is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an application template that would provide many of the basic functions common to all applications.
In some equipment today, programmable logic controllers (PLC) are used to control equipment. Expensive operator interfaces and keyboards may be attached, which enable the operator to input commands and display data. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have the operator interface and keyboard along with the drivers incorporated into the main embedded control.
In some equipment today, single board computers are used to control equipment. These computers do not contain all the components to control the equipment, such as displays, keyboards, or high-level electromechanical drivers. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have the operator interface, keyboard, along with the device drivers and electromechanical drivers, included in the embedded control system.
In some equipment today, personal computers are used to control equipment. These computers contain all the necessary hardware to implement a control. They have plug-in cards and different display options. These systems do not handle real-time applications very well and are expensive and require extensive programming. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a low-cost embedded system that includes plug in-modules.
In some equipment today, timers and temperature and relay closure sequences are formed into recipes. These recipes are sometimes broken down into steps. Often, many steps make-up a recipe. These steps are usually set at the keyboard of the equipment. Therefore, it would be advantageous if the modular embedded control system included an infrared transceiver that allows recipe data to be transmitted to and received from standard handheld computers. This would allow a user to program the recipe of the equipment on the handheld computer off-site then, when on-site, send the data to the equipment via an infrared port or serial port. The user would then go to multiple sites and send the recipe data to other devices, which would save a considerable amount of time.
In personal computers today, bit maps are used to represent standard pictures. These bit maps are drawings that are formed by small square blocks. There are many standard bit map programs that are currently available. These bit map programs may be used to draw letters of the alphabet that are bolder and easier to read on a screen. Therefore, it would be advantageous to be able to draw characters of the alphabet in such a manner as to make them bold and/or different sizes and to have a program that can convert the bit map bold letters into an array that an embedded system can read and display.